You Know What They Say About First Impressions...

I'd like to first say Thanks! to Tony Karrer for linking back here.

I was reading Tony's eLearning Technology blog yesterday afternoon, and I saw his post about profile photos and how to use them for professional networking. It's a worthwhile topic, and one that is becoming especially important in the Web 2.0 world, where people across the spectrum of industry and professions seek to stay in touch with colleagues and to expand their opportunity nets for jobs, be they present or future.

The core of the topic is how a simple profile photo, or the lack of one, can convey positive or negative connotations to people making hiring decisions, or at the very least those in a position to take you and your opinions and work seriously. In a reply I posted to this topic thread, I agreed that profile photos on sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, or perhaps in a Ning group or on IM chat, can affect peoples' impressions of you as a person. It's the neverending struggle between sides in the Battle of First Impressions. I made a comment that even one's email address can positively or negatively affect one's chances of getting a job or being taken seriously in professional networking contexts.

My anecdote about a non-professional email address that I use and someone's somewhat negative reaction to it added another dimension to the profile photo question. I think one's email address is probably one of the very first dimensions someone in a position to make decisions about you. It's very acceptable to ask for one's email address about as quickly (perhaps even moreso) than you would ask for their phone number. If I'm a professional in a suit and tie seeking a job with a corporation, and I meet a representative of that corporation either in an interview sense or somewhere in public, I need to be cognizant of what a lowly email address can potentially convey. If my email address is heavymetalshredder@rockthehousedown.com, the person in the position of power may have a personal bias that could alleviate me from consideration almost at the outset. No offense to heavy metal shredding guitarists of course, but the email will betray my otherwise professional (suit and tie) attempts to land a good job.

As is always the case with first impressions, the first one has to be at least good - hopefully memorable - for the job to be landed or the opportunity to be grabbed. And we've all heard of the stories of those losing jobs or job opportunities due to a seedy MySpace page or by Tweeting what they think of the company they just landed a job at. What other possible pitfalls are out there that we might not immediately think about in this respect?

The Power of LinkedIn: Real or Imagined?

I participated in the first half of a session on the power of LinkedIn for training industry professionals this past Friday. The session was delivered by Tony Karrer of eLearning Technology blog, and Mark Sylvester. Alas, I did not get to stay for the entire hour, but the polls that Mark ran revealed some interesting results. About two-thirds of the audience was using LinkedIn to varying degrees, and the other third was not. This seems to confirm at a high level at least that LI is becoming more relevant for training professionals. Most of the respondents had between 0 and 100 connections, and about 33% (of which I can include myself, but just barely) have between 100 and 500 connections.

I have used LI to link to most professionals I know and have worked for or with, and to find the odd high school classmate. I just recently passed the 100 connection point, and I want to expand further, but I do know a great many people that do not use LI at all still. But even my recent increased utilization of LI has been tempered by other activities. I would like to continue growing my use of LI, but do not have the time at present.

And this gets to a central question about LI: Is filling out a profile on something like LI worth the time and effort yet? What have been the results for individuals? Has LI generated job leads? Have offers been made because Person Y had an LI profile whereas another did not? If Person Y and Person Z both have profiles, can it be assumed that the completeness of one's profile over anothers is a major determining factor? Based on a recent anecdote from a former coworker and engineer, LI is gaining prominence. At this point, there certainly is no downside to having an LI profile, and it allows prospective employers a way to verify your individual credibility and references through recommendations, for example.


There are many unknowns, and I have more research to do.

Social Networks, Networking, and Finding Work

Before my facilitation at my client's worksite yesterday, I was speaking with one of the participants. We were making small talk before commencing, and the discussion turned to networking and landing a job. The participant mention that he had worked for an aerospace firm earlier in his career. This aerospace firm, of which he still has several friend in its employ, has according to his anecdote, begun hiring almost exclusively through LinkedIn. His friends had told him that the company was now more likely to hire individuals with LinkedIn accounts (and one would think individuals making more robust use of that site than others), than those without an account on LI.

I first made my own LI account back in 2007, and proceeded to not pay too much attention to it. That is, until I renewed my search for work very recently. While I haven't landed a job with my LI account yet, I am networking my friends and peers at a decent rate. I only have around 100 connections, but this has allowed me to uncover companies I had never heard of that friends or friends of friends have moved on to. Knowledge of these organizations now opens more possibilities to find work, and requesting recommendations from your connections is not only something you should do, you should do it now.

Does your organization utilize LI? What are its results? Was there a tangible difference in candidate quality between those utilizing LI, and those not using it? What about other social networking sites?